How to Quit Smoking: I Did it Several Times!

First off, let me begin by stating that I have not had a cigarette in almost 15 years. Being a former three pack a day smoker, I think I deserve a pat on the back for that feat (or a kick you know where for smoking in the first place). I tried to quit many times during the twenty years that I smoked. Each attempt was met with varying degrees of success.

My first attempts at smoking cessation were a joke. I thought I knew how to quit smoking and it was so simple - just quit. I quickly discovered that this was easier said than done when I found myself lighting up a cigarette just past noon on the first day. A few subsequent attempts at quitting "cold turkey" were met with minimal success with periods of non-smoking lasting anywhere from an hour to three weeks.

Several years of denial surrounded each attempt and resultant failure as I explored how to quit smoking. I convinced myself that I enjoyed smoking and rationalized it in every way imaginable. Sure, I certainly enjoyed huffing and puffing after climbing a flight of stairs and waking up in the middle of the night hacking so violently that I thought I would most definitely expel a portion of my lung.

Finally, I stumbled onto what finally worked for me - pride and stubbornness.

In a casual conversation with friends about how to quit smoking, I remarked that I could do it if I really wanted to. One friend just laughed and remarked that I would never quit. Insulted and a bit indignant, I was adamant in my claim that I knew how to quit smoking and could do it at any time that I wanted to. A lump formed in my throat as a friend told me to pick a date that I would quit. As it was only the beginning of the summer, I picked a date far in the future, November first, confident that everyone would forget about our ridiculous conversation and my even more ridiculous claim of knowing how to quit smoking. As Halloween approached, I had forgotten all about that conversation but a close friend had not and reminded me, with a chuckle, that the big day was approaching. I smoked my last cigarette on Halloween night and, with continued perseverance, will never smoke another one. My pride and stubborn nature were the key factors in how to quit smoking for me.